Medieval

Prophecies of Apocalypse in Sixteenth-Century Morisco Writings and the Wondrous Tale of Tamīm al-Dārī
Lourdes María Alvarez
Catholic University of America

Abstract Forcibly converted to Catholicism in the late ﬁfteenth century and the early decades of the sixteenth, the Spanish Moriscos chafed at the restrictions on their cultural and religious practices; many continued to secretly practice Islam while hoping that Turkish or North African forces would bring them deliverance. Their aljamiado writings, which use a specially modiﬁed Arabic script to represent Spanish mixed with Arabic words and phrases, reﬂect a desire to preserve Islamic knowledge and Andalusian cultural practices and pass them along to new generations unable to read Arabic. Many of these aljamiado texts reﬂect an urgently apocalyptic worldview. Some of these contain explicit prophecies of divine vengeance on the “eaters of pork” who persecute Muslim believers, prophecies attributed either to important Muslim ﬁgures from the past or, in one case, to Saint Isidore of Seville. Although the Rrekontamiento de Tamim Addar (Story of Tamīm al-Dārī), a lively tale of adventure found in a 16th-century Aragonese aljamiado manuscript, has little in common with the explicit prophecies of the end times, its apocalypticism is all pervasive. The story draws from Islamic Traditions (ḥ adīth) regarding Tamīm al-Dārī while weaving a wondrous tale of a man snatched by jinn who makes his way from captivity and religious oppression through a fantastic landscape populated with a wealth of apocalyptic ﬁgures and motifs to ultimately return to his Islamic community and his long-suﬀering wife. An English translation of the aljamiado text follows. Keywords Aljamia, Aljamiado literature, Islamic apocalypticism, Moriscos, Tamīm al-Dārī, Dajjāl, Khidr, Islamic folktales, Islamic literature–Spain.

gious and cultural unity of Catholic Spain.1 From 1499, when Fray Jiménez de Cisneros began corralling the Granadan Muslims and baptizing them en masse, to 1609, when Spain took the dramatic step of expelling them, arguments raged about how best to educate the Moriscos in their new faith and rid them of their “non-Spanish” customs and dress. Special catechisms were printed. Edicts were proclaimed. Pardons were granted. Neither force nor mercy could overcome the Moriscos’ outrage at the abrogation of agreements that had given them—“in perpetuity”—the right to practice their religion and keep their property.2 Ever more stringent measures prohibiting the use of Arabic, the wearing of “Moorish” styles of clothing, and circumcision, as well as the constant scrutiny of Moriscos’ food choices, bathing practices, and other personal habits, only served to fuel their anger and desire for deliverance. Inquisition records and other sources record the lengths to which many Moriscos went to dissimulate their continued Islamic observance: women made a show of buying pork at the market, only to feed it to their dogs; Moriscos consented to baptize their children publicly, only to perform private ceremonies to “wash away” the Christian sacrament once they returned home; they celebrated Christian saints’ days, but were suspected of simply seeking excuses to bathe for bathing’s sake.3 At a time
1 For a general introduction to the history of the Moriscos, see L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005); Mary Elizabeth Perry, The Handless Maiden: Moriscos and the Politics of Religion in Early Modern Spain, Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2005); Anwar G. Chejne, Islam and the West: The Moriscos, a Cultural and Social History (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983); Antonio Domínguez Ortiz and Bernard Vincent, Historia de los moriscos: Vida y tragedia de una minoría (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1985); Louis Cardaillac, Morisques et chrétiens: Un aﬀrontement polémique, 1492-1640 (Paris: Klincksieck, 1977); Les Morisques et l’inquisition, ed. Louis Cardaillac and Juan Aranda Doncel (Paris: Publisud, 1990); Manuel Barrios Aguilera, Granada morisca, la convivencia negada: Historia y textos (Granada: Editorial COMARES, 2002); and Miguel de Epalza, Los moriscos antes y después de la expulsión (Madrid: Editorial MAPFRE, 1992). The pioneering work in the ﬁeld is Henry Charles Lea, The Moriscos of Spain: Their Conversion and Expulsion (New York: Haskell House, 1968). For a select collection of key primary sources, see Mercedes García-Arenal, Los Moriscos (Madrid: Editora Nacional, 1975). 2 The text of the 1492 Capitulations, with its clear enumeration of rights for these new subjects of the Spanish Crown, is reproduced in Miguel Angel Ladero Quesada, Los mudéjares de Castilla en tiempo de Isabel I. (Valladolid: Instituto “Isabel la Católica” de Historia Eclesiástica, 1969), 318-19. 3 Cardaillac, Morisques et chrétiens, 24-33.

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when the Ottoman Turks posed a threat to the security of the Spanish Empire, pirates operating out of North African bases harassed sea traﬃc, and Protestantism endangered the Holy Roman Empire, the Moriscos were widely seen as rebellious subjects, a ﬁfth column sympathetic to Spain’s enemies and eager to undermine the state. Ironically, when they arrived on North African shores, the thousands of Moriscos expelled from Spain were mistreated or killed because they were “apostates,” baptized, uncircumcised, and marked by the language and customs of the Christians. While scholars argue over the degree to which the Moriscos had actually assimilated to their Christian environment and whether they truly posed a serious threat to Spain’s national security or had ties to overseas forces, a deﬁant embrace of Islam dominated the writings that circulated privately among them: prayer texts, religious narratives, and other materials. Among those writings were numerous jófores, or apocalyptic prophecies, telling of the imminent ruin and devastation of the inﬁdel Christians at the hands of the Turks.4 In his Rebelión y castigo de los moriscos de Granada, Luis del Mármol de Carvajal stresses the role that these prophecies played in sparking the bloody Alpujarras rebellion (1568-71), alleging that angry Moriscos “began spreading their jófores and prophecies and began urging rebellion, some discreetly, while others, who had nothing to lose, openly.”5 Yet these jófores are far more than a thinly veiled incitement for an uprising. They are a reaﬃrmation of commitment to Islam, a call to repentance and spiritual rededication, and more importantly they reﬂect an attempt to grapple with the meaning and purpose of history in the ﬁrst sizeable Muslim community to live under Christian rule, subject to Christian law and the power of the Inquisition by virtue of their “conversion.”6 Systematically excluded from many professions, subjected to intrusive examinations of their
The Arabic word jafr, from which this word is derived, means divination or fortunetelling. Medieval and early modern texts bearing the name of jafr use a variety of approaches to divining the future, from the astrological to the science of letters (hurūﬁyya) and mystical interpretations of the Qurʾān and other sacred texts. See T. Fahd, Encyclopedia of Islam, CD-ROM ed. (Leiden: Brill, 1999), s.v. “Djafar.” 5 Mármol de Carvajal, “Rebelión y castigo de los moriscos de Granada,” in Historiadores de sucesos particulares (Madrid: Rivadeneyra, 1852), 169. 6 The Muslim communities remaining in Sicily after the mid-eleventh-century Norman conquest, as well as those in reconquered areas of Spain, generally lived subject to their own religious law and authority. Christian law applied to them only in cases that involved Muslim interactions with Christians or the Christian community at large. Thus, Muslim religious observance, dietary habits, grooming, dress, and other customs would generally not be subject to Christian scrutiny. For more on these communities, see the articles collected
4

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such as the precipitous fall of Visigothic Spain to the Muslim invaders. The technological advance of the printing press facilitated the widespread circulation of compendiums of prophetic and apocalyptic texts. 1999). and the late ﬁfteenth-century Venguda del Antichrist of the Spiritual Franciscan Johan Alamany.L. 6 (1923): 24-49.
ME 13. see Marjorie Reeves. His extensive bibliography includes works such as a collection of earlier texts entitled Refundicio compendiada de la summa concordiae Veteris et Novi Testament di Joachim. an era of Christian military advances that would pave the way for universal conversion and the end of history. Spanish Christians. M. the division wrought by the Western Schism. “Profecies catalanes dels segles XIV i XV: Assaig bibliogràﬁc. in a larger eschatological framework. Las profecías del anticristo en la Edad Media (Madrid: Gredos. a Castilian translation of Vade mecum in Tribulatione by Jean de Roquetaillade (also known by many other names. N. Apocalyptic sentiments were certainly not unique to the Moriscos at this time. Joachim of Fiore and the Prophetic Future: A Medieval Study in Historical Thinking (Stroud: Sutton.indd 569
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. 1100-1300 (Princeton.8 Christopher Columbus—himself an ardent admirer of Joachim—compiled Libro de las profecías in which he
in James M. like other Europeans. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
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most personal habits. 7 The bibliography on medieval and early modern apocalyptic writing is immense. and vulnerable to the denunciation of neighbors for suspicious behavior such as frequent bathing or eating couscous. Muslims under Latin Rule. had long attempted to locate major historical moments.: Princeton University Press. 1996). or the 1453 fall of Constantinople. many late ﬁfteenthcentury and early sixteenth-century observers read the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the Catholic Kings and the discovery of the New World as signs that mankind had entered its ﬁnal era. compilations which might include new versions or translations of texts written centuries earlier. Moriscos found in these prophecies some deeper meaning to their suﬀering and proof that wrongs would soon be righted and universal justice would prevail. Martín Martínez de Ampiés’s Libro de Anticristo. For a wealth of information more speciﬁc to the Iberian Peninsula.3_f8_566-601. 8 Pere Bohigas i Balaguer.” Butlletí de la Biblioteca de Catalunya. Pere Bohigas documented the vigorous tradition of apocalypticism in the Catalonian region. see José Guadalajara Medina.J. For an excellent introduction on how the writings of Joachim of Fiore helped shape medieval and early modern European notions of their historical and future relations with nonChristian others.7 Following the tripartite understanding of history popularized by Joachim of Fiore and those who later elaborated on his ideas. including Juan de Rupescissa or Rocatallada). written around 1493. Powell. 1990).

they also moved Phillip to quash the mere appearance of internal dissent. as Louis Cardaillac observes. which simply eﬀaced the mention of speciﬁc dates. 11 Cardaillac. Christian and Morisco prophecies competed directly with each other. West.10 By the mid-sixteenth century. 10 (1936): 201-20. a hard-fought conﬂict that was put down only with the help of garrisons recalled from Italy. 1991).indd 570
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.3_f8_566-601.11 Although numerous eyewitnesses refer to the Morisco fervor for prophecy and apocalypse.570
L. “Les pseudo-propheties concernant les Turcs au XVIème siècle. Delno C. and cuisine. M.
ME 13. Ottoman gains in the Mediterranean under Suleyman I (r. and August Kling. If Suleyman’s victories gave rebellious-minded Moriscos hope that deliverance was near. Morisques et chrétiens. The Libro de las profecías of Christopher Columbus (Gainesville: University of Florida Press. In 1567 he issued a new decree—which in many respects simply echoed earlier decrees—further restricting the Moriscos’ language. another arena in which to carry on religious polemic and debate. if we accept Mármol de Carvajal’s observation. Phillip II began to lose a considerable number of strategic Mediterranean ports to aggressive Ottoman moves calculated to exploit the overextension of Phillip’s forces. which were engaged on fronts throughout the Holy Roman Empire. 10 J. Deny. new prophecies emerged to account for new realities.9 As the heady triumphalism following the dramatic expansion of Spanish territory at the close of the ﬁfteenth century was later tempered by the challenge of the Reformation and the military advances of rival powers. marking. The heavy-handed application of these bitterly resented measures—and perhaps. our sources are limited
9 Christopher Columbus. the Moriscos’ own heightened expectations of divine retribution—led to the second Alpujarras rebellion (1568-70). Deny notes that the fact that Torquata’s original dates for the invasion—no later than 1536—passed without incident did not deter later reprintings of his work. dress. 55. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
claims that his success in the journey to the Indies was “the fulﬁllment of what Isaiah had prophesied” and speaks of the urgency of proclaiming the Gospel to many lands to bring the prophecies to their culmination. 1520-66) inspired the widely circulated 1534 Prognosticon of Antonio Torquata which told of an imminent Turkish invasion that would destroy most of Europe before divine intervention would give the deﬁnitive victory to the Germans.” Revue des Etudes Islamiques. It must be noted that the apocalypticism of the Moriscos is not only marked by its speciﬁc historico-political context but also shaped by the themes and tropes of both Christian and Islamic apocalyptic traditions.

Manuscritos árabes y aljamiados de la Biblioteca de la Junta (Madrid: Centro de Estudios Históricos.” a greeting). 1912).14
For the very useful catalog of the contents of the largest of these caches. Medieval Iberian Peninsula Texts and Studies (Leiden: Brill. like p.). and in walls.L. in addition to Wiegers. a curious mixture of Spanish and Arabic utilizing a modiﬁed Arabic script. Luce López-Baralt. the muftī of the Castilian Mudéjars—that is. Bibliografía de la literatura aljamiado-morisca. Islam in Spanish Literature: From the Middle Ages to the Present. with no equivalent in Arabic script. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
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because this type of text was systematically conﬁscated and destroyed by the Inquisition. The development of aljamiado script predates the forced conversions of the sixteenth century. 14 On aljamiado.13 Yça appears to have been instrumental in devising the conventions by which Spanish sounds. longer Arabic phrases tend to be followed by a Spanish gloss. see Julián Ribera and M. al-dīn (religion). would be represented. “Consideraciones sobre literatura aljamiada y los cambios en
12
ME 13. Hegyi. 1992). in the column of a house. the Breviario Sunni. usually called aljamiado. 5 ([Alicante]: Universidad de Alicante. no. stretching back to the ﬁfteenth century when Islamic leaders such as Yça of Segovia (ﬂ. n. Los manuscritos de Junta: Colección de manuscritos árabes y aljamiados de la Biblioteca del Instituto de Filología del CSIC (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientíﬁcas. Bernabé Pons. We must rely primarily on caches of Morisco texts. 13 See Gerard Albert Wiegers. J. Andrew Hurley (Leiden: E. M. malak al-mawtu (angel of death). Asín Ribera y Tarragó. While aljamiado texts vary in the extent to which they incorporate common Arabic expressions and Islamic religious terminology. 1994). and alShaytan (Satan). These manuscripts have been published in CD-ROM format. in many cases. Yça.indd 571
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. 1992). the Arabic lexicon is limited to very common words such as al-nabbī (the Prophet). Islamic Literature in Spanish and Aljamiado. Islamic Literature in Spanish and Aljamiado: Yça of Segovia (1450). trans.3_f8_566-601. under ﬂoorboards. He translated the Qurʾān into Spanish and wrote an inﬂuential Spanish language compendium of Islamic law and practice. O. See pp.d. His Antecedents and Successors. Colleccio Xarc Al-Andalus. 98-114 on Yça’s translation of the Qurʾān. found centuries after the expulsion.12 Most of these Morisco writings are in a kind of interlanguage. see Luis F. The great pains taken by Moriscos to hide these documents from the Inquisition explains why the bulk of these manuscripts were found long after the forcible expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609. 1450) saw the need to provide religious and cultural instruction to believers who lacked an adequate command of Arabic. al-salām (“peace. the Muslim subjects of Castile—devoted substantial energies to making Islamic texts available to Spanish-speaking Muslims. Brill.

stories about the prophets such as Abraham. magic.indd 572
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. and tomes on divination. For example. see Harvey. There is also a great deal of morphological simpliﬁcation: most Arabic broken plurals have been abandoned in favor of plurals formed according to Spanish usage.” an expression that comes from the Arabic saying.” Iberomania: Zeitschrift für die iberomanischen Sprachen und Literaturen in Europa und Amerika. The collection is marked by a very careful attention to philological accuracy and exhaustive
ME 13. Solomon. ḥ adīth about the Prophet and his companions. rather than anbiyāʾ. 2 (1967): 130-2. akala al-ribā. al-asās (foundation) becomes aliceces.15 Neologisms formed by combining aspects of the two languages abound: the verb tahararse (to perform the ritual ablution). the plural of nabī. “Minority and Restricted Uses of the Arabic Alphabet: The Aljamiado Phenomenon. and so forth. no. for the transcriptions provide a rich source of information about regional diﬀerences in the pronunciation of Spanish precisely at the moment in which the language is being codiﬁed and regional variation is being suppressed.3_f8_566-601. “Castilian ‘Mancebo’ as a Calque of Arabic ʿabd. and Hegyi. Spelling errors in Arabic words and phrases are also a source of information about the regional dialectal pronunciation of Arabic among the Moriscos.s.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 99. is nabīes.572
L. literally “to eat proﬁt. 16 A number of aljamiado texts have been published in Latin transliteration (or more properly. Arabic words are often given with both the Spanish deﬁnite article and the Arabic one: el al-jinne and el al-ḥ adīth.16 Aljamiado manuscripts. 2 (1979): 262-9. malakes. 65. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
Aljamiado writings have been of enormous fascination to linguists. the plural of malak. These texts also demonstrate typical features of languages in contact. no. practical guides that explain how to properly perform ritual prayers (ṣalāt). For instance. retransliteration) as volumes of the Colección de literatura española aljamiadomorisca series directed by Alvaro Galmés de Fuentes (Madrid: Editorial Gredos). 15 For another example of this. However.” Modern Philology. in this case Arabic idiomatic expressions that have been translated literally into Spanish. which in recent decades have begun to
el concepto aljamía. apart from the undeniable linguistic interest of these texts. the aljamiado corpus encompasses a rich variety of material far broader than the explicitly apocalyptic and prophetic texts that concern us here: prayers (sometimes in Arabic with interlinear Spanish translation or glosses). or How el Mancebo de Arevalo Got His Name. and popular medicine. Moses. 17 (1983): 1-16. M. and Jesus. a chivalrous novel. usury is referred to as comer el logro.. for example. n. Historia de los amores de Paris y Viana. in which the Arabic verb tahara is changed into a Spanish reﬂexive form. such as semantic calques.

“El oráculo de Mahoma sobre la Andalucía musulmana de los últimos tiempos en un manuscrito aljamiado-morisco de la Biblioteca Nacional de Paris. this one includes copies of the manuscript pages. 1987. are an invaluable source of information about popular religion and cultural practice in this embattled community. ed. Isidore of Seville. 1970 (as the ﬁrst volume of the series. The edited text is followed by a useful glossary. Galmés de Fuentes. and instructions for making amulets for everything from calming colicky babies to relieving headache or stomach ache. Kobbervig. “Aljamiado Prophecies. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
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appear in careful editions which reverse the transliteration back into a Latin script from the original Arabic transliteration. Vespertino Rodríguez. 52. One particularly fascinating manuscript contains hundreds of recipes. N. Karl I. 1 (1984): 41-57. M. Lincoln. 3 (1937): 631-44. Profecías sobre la destrucción de España y otros relatos moriscos (Madrid: Editorial Gredos. resolving marital discord to making oneself invisible. spells. Ana Labarta (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientíﬁcas. ed.18
linguistic analysis. A. one ascribed to the famous twelfthcentury Andalusian traveler Ibn Jubayr (1145-1217). ed. ed. 1993). Another section of the manuscript includes directions for the overland route to the Ottoman-held Greek port of Salonika—presumably for Moriscos planning on escaping the reach of the Spanish crown. making it an ideal tool for a student wishing to learn how to read aljamiado texts). Judgment day.3_f8_566-601. and a fourth text credited to the Prophet Muhammad. 18 Three jófores or pronósticos recorded by the historian Mármol de Carvajal in Rebelión y
ME 13. 1983. the texts had been previously published by J.indd 573
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. See Libro de dichos maravillosos (Miscelánea morisco de magia y adivinación). 1982). no.” Publications of the Modern Language Association of America.
Aljamiado Prophetic Texts Our richest source for charting Morisco apocalypticism is a sixteenthcentury aljamiado manuscript from Aragon (MS 774 of the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris) which contains writings on death. Among the titles in the collection are Historia de los amores de París y Viana. El Manuscrito misceláneo 774 de la Biblioteca Nacional de París: Leyendas itinerarios de viajes. no. one takes the form of the story of a group of Jews who ask Muhammad a series of questions about Islam and convert upon hearing the answers. and prophecies of the End Times. Leyendas aljamiadas y moriscas sobre personajes bíblicos. 17 Mercedes Sánchez Alvarez. along with the Arabic characters typeset for easier reading and the author’s transliteration. MS 774 contains four explicitly prophetic texts: two texts attributed to St. Additional titles have been published by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientíﬁcas and other publishers. 52.17 Not all of the texts collected in this manuscript are overtly apocalyptic. and Libro de las suertes: Tratado de adivinación por el juego de azar. See Luce López Baralt.L.” Hispanic Review.

574
L. One exception to this is “El guaçía del Gran Turco llamado Mohammed el Ottsman” (The Prophecy of the Great Turk. llaman la dolorida. Spain). dating to 884 AH (1479). R. in general these references are vague and unspeciﬁc. 1955).” Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica. which prefaces many manuscript copies of Isidore’s Historia de los godos. Although a fair number of these prophecies make references to the Turks. “Las problemáticas ‘profecías’ de San Isidoro de Sevilla y de ʾAli Ibnu Yebir Alferesiyo en torno al Islam español del siglo XVI: Tres aljófores del ms. The letter promises Mehmed’s son—unnamed in the text but presumably Bayezid II—and his two brothers great conquests including that of “todas las Españas de los paganos” (all of the Spains of the pagans). 2 (1980): 343-66. Menéndez Pidal (Madrid: Gredos. was a frequent trope in later Castilian histories. a name that curiously echoes the title of Ibn Ḥ azm’s celebrated eleventh-century treatise on love. Tawq al-Hammama.indd 574
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. no. Ibn Jubayr. though I have been unable to identify him—can be dated by its reference to the Turkish conquest of Rhodes (1522) and a bright comet. De laude Spanie. Although as Luce López Baralt observes. The second prophecy is attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. aljamiado 774 de la Biblioteca Nacional de París. Isidore—a ﬁgure much invoked by Castilian historiographers during the Reconquest—“foretells” the suﬀerings of the Muslims in an intensely poetic lament punctuated by its reiterated “Guay de ti. ya mas muerta que uiua. attributed to Zayd el Guerguali—presumably a historical ﬁgure. 20 The famous encomium to Spain. likely Halley’s Comet.20 The text entitled Rrekontamiento de los eskandalos ke an de akaeçer en la çaguería de los tiempos en la Isla de España (Account of the Grave Things that Will Occur in the End Times on the Spanish Island) contains prophecies ascribed to the famous Spanish traveler to Mecca. this “duelo de España” takes on a highly emotional tone: “¡Espanna mezquina! Tanto fue la su muert coytada que solamientre non ﬁnco y ninguno qui la llante.
ME 13. 19 See López Baralt. and the third text is ascribed to someone named Tauca el Hamema. 29.3_f8_566-601. where it was followed by a lament for the destruction visited upon Spain by the Arabs as divine punishment for the sinfulness of its political and religious leaders. this pseudo-Isidore has been slightly Islamicized—referring to himself as a servant of “Unidad” rather than of “Trinidad. The ﬁrst of these.” Primera crónica general de España. which purports to be the last will and testament of Mehmed II. 312. M. which was seen in 1531.” what is even more striking is how closely the tone emulates that of a whole tradition of texts attributed to Isidore. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
The Morisco appropriation of eschatological ideas and motifs—and even prophets—from Christian tradition is most strikingly exempliﬁed in the prophecies attributed to St. ed. vándalos y suevos. Isidore. Mohammed the Ottoman).19 In the Morisco Planto de Espanya. In Alfonso X’s Primera crónica general de España. his lively—and oft-imitated—account of his
castigo present our most important additional source for Morisco apocalyptic thought. who is best known for the Riḥ la. España” (Woe is you.

Here. as transliterated by Sánchez Alvarez in El manuscrito misceláneo 774. and bring them great famine and lack of food. The Riḥ la has been translated into several languages. .indd 575
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. Abrá garandes adversidades entere las jentes / en las çiwdades i yen las villas. The beginning of the end of the suﬀering of the Muslims will come about through discord between the two monarchs who “worship the cross” and “eat pork. 240. . 1952). and the Norman kingdom of Sicily (London: J. / ̵ i yenviyará Allah tacālā sobr-ellos / la puluviya kuwando no fará menester. kiyen les a/follará el tiyempo. 1949). 1992). Chronological references in the text are somewhat confused. and the young will not honor the aged . and they will leave the mosques empty and deserted. 279v-80v. Cape. When the hermit is asked when this will be.
ME 13.22 [(The hermit) told him that there would be little shame and much adultery. being the chronicle of a mediaeval Spanish Moor concerning his journey to the Egypt of Saladin. fols. i no onrrarán los chikos a los garandes . Riḥ lat Ibn Jubayr: Fī Miṣr wa-bilād al-ʿArab wa-al-ʿIrāq ([Cairo]: Maktabat Miṣr. given the heavy-handed Trinitarian symbolism of what follows. Baghdad the city of the caliphs. given the historical Ibn Jubayr’s association with travel writing.” presumably a reference to the Catholic Kings. see The travels of Ibn Jubayr. the holy cities of Arabia. However. i darles á garandes fanberes i garan menguwa // de ̵ ̵ ̵ viyandas. i dexan las meçkidas / vazíyas i despobladas. kuwando akello será. The scenario is certainly plausible. M. enviyará Allah / tacālā sobrellos. and Voyages.3_f8_566-601. in 1530—the three Muslim kings will join together in a ﬁerce battle against the Christians. the speciﬁc details of this apocalypse are joined to the conventional signs of the last days:
Díšole ke será poka la vergüwença / i mucha el alzzine i no rrekonoçerá / el ermano a ̄ ̵ ̵ ̵ ̵ ̵ su ermano. and Almighty God will send down upon them one who will ruin their time. . ni el ﬁjo // al padre. There will be great adversity among the people in the cities and the
21 See Muḥ ammad Ibn Jubayr. trans. . English translation is mine. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
575
adventures and numerous scrapes with death.L. he replies: ̵ “[E]l año de noveçiyentos i dos perençipiyará el año de seis” (In the year nine-hundred and two the year of six will begin). it is also possible that “the year of six” refers to the mark of the beast.21 In this text. the pseudo— Ibn Jubayr meets a mysterious old hermit living on a mountain top near Damascus. / i deternerl-á kuwando fará menester. the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. that when the three ﬁve hundreds and the three decades are complete—that is. as in most of these jófores. and brother will know not brother. 666. 22 MS 774. Maurice Gaudefroy-Demombynes (Paris: Geuthner. Assuming that 902 refers to a hijrī date—equivalent to 1496 in the Gregorian calendar—then “the year of six” could be an awkward gloss for readers more familiar with the Christian calendar. nor son know father.

see also Ibn Kathīr. “Moral Apocalyptic in Islam. and all sense of shame and propriety is lost.23 The call to personal religious renewal and the strengthening of a shared cultural identity drives not only Morisco prophetic texts but almost all aljamiado literature. 1992). and the burning of mosques to build “igelesiyas para las kuruzes” (churches for crosses) but insists that this suﬀering will lead God to move the hearts of the Muslim kings. and the vicious persecution by the Christian authorities can themselves be read as hopeful signs. reordering the world and restoring justice. The Signs before the Day of Judgement (London: Dar al-Taqwa. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601 villages and Almighty God will send rain down upon them when they need it not and withhold it when they do. The lack of religious observance leads to a more general breakdown in the social fabric: children do not respect their elders. 86 (1997): 37-69. for divine intervention would soon bring history to its close. For the tribulations preceding the end times gain their salvational signiﬁcance when understood less in terms of external political events than as the punishment for moral failures of the community: Muslims no longer study the Qurʾān. beginning in southern Spain. even the world turned upside down. they are but a subset of a much larger body of Morisco writing that addresses the moral and ethical dimensions of eschatology. the Rrekontamiento de Tamīm al-Dār (Story of Tamīm alDārī).indd 576
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. The overriding message of the apocalyptic writer is the exhortation to hold fast to Islam. a lively tale of adventure contained in a sixteenth-century Aragonese
Cook. military.3_f8_566-601. they do not perform ṣalāt. but the text insists on the proper interpretation of these momentous events. the moral dimension of apocalypse is paramount.576
L. they do but little fasting and they invoke Allah with empty hearts. While scholars have made preliminary studies of those prophecies whose descriptions of political. It foretells the mass conversions of Muslims to Christianity.
Tamīm al-Dārī and the End of Time On its surface.
23
ME 13. As David Cook observes. for that very defeat—which will prove to be only temporary—heralds the ﬁnal victory. the lack of piety of those who have turned away from Islam. or astrological “portents of the hour” put them in dialogue with their Christian counterparts. even in the face of persecution and apparent defeat.” Studia Islamica.]
The faithlessness of the Muslims brings God’s wrath upon them. M. Thus.

the story’s apocalypticism becomes quite clear. Lecker. s. has little in common with the prophetic texts that speak of the ruin that would be visited upon the “eaters of pork. see Cook. 25 For approaches to the historical Tamīm al-Dārī. 68 (1998): 20-8. A. and M. . an early convert to Islam from Christianity. 2 (2003): 291-307. 4953 de la Bibl. 93. (Madrid: Impr. “Tamīm al-Dārī. Halperin. Tamīm al-Dārī is a historical ﬁgure. “The Legend of Al-Dajjāl (Antichrist): The Personiﬁcation of Evil in the Islamic Tradition.indd 577
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. Early collections of ḥ adīth. 2 (1976): 213-25.. an apocalyptic ﬁgure present in Judeo-Christian writings until as late as the sixteenth century.” Journal of the American Oriental Society. M. 855).v. “The Ibn Sayyad Traditions and the Legend of al-Dajjāl.26 It is
24 This story can be found in MS 4953 Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid. 160-96.”24 Nor does it make any attempt at an explicit chronology of the end times. no. “Tamīm al-Dārī. 100v-128r.” Muslim World.v. J. Cinco leyendas y otros relatos moriscos (Ms. Madrid) (Madrid: Gredos. the Tamīm Addār story is on pp. 1886). over time he himself becomes the protagonist of a number of tales of adventure. Abel. from the Saḥ īḥ of Muslim (d.” 26 On al-Dajjāl. For Francisco Guillén Robles’s edition/translation of the text in Spanish approximating nineteenth-century usage. 875) to the Musnad of Ibn Ḥ anbal (d. fols. s. Encyclopedia of Islam. David J. Tello.
ME 13. 96. The complexity of the tale— refashioned from preexisting popular literary tradition to heighten the elements that echoed their current situation—provides additional evidence that the Moriscos were not as culturally impoverished as some modern observers would have them. Encyclopedia of Islam. However. “The Moslem Anti-Christ Legend. describe his encounter with al-Dajjāl. Nac. . and E. nor does it provide any gloss or explanation of the terms dajjāl.L. no. Curiously. see Zeki Saritoprak. al-Khidr.25 Said to be the ﬁrst storyteller. while carefully attending to nuances in narrative perspective that heighten the dramatic interest of the tale. when placed in the context of Islamic Traditions (ḥ adīth) and other material dealing with questions of the end times. 2:97-127. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
577
aljamiado manuscript of moral teachings. an apocalyptic ﬁgure often referred to as the Islamic Antichrist. . see Leyendas moriscas.” Bulletin of the School for Oriental and African Studies. The manuscript has been edited and printed in a Latin transcription with an introduction and notes by Ottmar Hegyi. The work shows a remarkable literary sensibility. to be unleashed at the end of the world. “al-Dadjdjāl”. M. Hegyi’s edition aﬀords the uninitiated Spanish reader no clue as to the historical and cultural signiﬁcance of Tamīm al-Dārī other than mentioning that he is a ﬁgure known to Islamic tradition and providing the reference in Wensick. and one of the Prophet’s companions. using framing techniques that serve to juxtapose a variety of discursive types and styles.” Muslim World. 3 vols. and so on. Jenkinson. who is depicted as an enormous beast or a gigantesque human ﬁgure chained on an island.3_f8_566-601. 20 (1930): 50-5. 1981).

ME 13.578
L. Muslim’s is considered one of the most authoritative and is thus accepted by many believers as describing true historical events. including that he would not enter Medina. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
important to note that among the many compilations of prophetic Tradition.” Translation is mine. (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale. Then these [waves] took them [near] the land within the ocean [island] at the time of sunset. 4:28. “to deceive or to dupe. 1914). Cf. We said: Woe be upon thee. who are you? And he said: . In both Muslim’s and al-Masʿūdī’s versions of the story. go to this person in the monastery as he is very much eager to know about you. ʿAbdul Ḥ amīd Siddiqī (Lahore: Muhammad Ashraf. trans. 9 vols. [The narrator] described his appearance and what he requested of them and asked them. 7028. When they came out of their ship they saw a beast (dābba) whose enormous body was covered with long hair.27
The dajjāl. They said: What is al-Jassāsa? And it said: O people. no. what is your name?’ He replied.’ He mentioned other things as well and added. . Barbier de Meynard. 1971). bk. They sat in a small side-boat and entered that Island. ‘I am the Jassāsa who is to emerge at the end of time. Then we hurriedly went on till we came to that monastery and found a well-built person there with his hands tied to his neck and having iron shackles between his two legs up to the ankles. . They said to it. the signs pointing to the dajjāl are
27 Ibn al-Ḥ ajjāj Muslim. M.indd 578
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.’ They looked and suddenly a man appeared. He [the narrator] said: When it named a person for us we were afraid of it lest it should be a Devil.3_f8_566-601.” Tamīm thus becomes linked to the discovery of the dajjāl. and trans. ‘Beast. They said: Woe to you. The sea pounded them and tossed them on an island. There was a beast with long thick hair [and because of this] they could not distinguish his face from his back. in many other recensions marked by his ﬁerce and grotesque appearance. the account of al-Masʿūdī: “[Tamīm al-Dārī] sailed the sea with a group of his relatives. He was the Dajjāl and he revealed many prophecies to them. takes his name from the verb dajala. bound and chained to steel pillars. ‘beware of the master of the castle. I am Dajjāl and will be soon permitted to get out and so I shall get out and travel in the land. based on Les Prairies d’or (Murūj al-dhahab). Muslim’s account in the Saḥ īḥ clearly provides much of the material that is incorporated as part of the Morisco tale:
[Tamīm al-Dārī] narrated to me that he had sailed in a ship along with thirty men of Banī Lakhm and Banī Judham and had been tossed by waves in the ocean for a month. and will not spare any town where I would not stay for forty nights except Mecca and Medina as these two [places] are prohibited [areas] for me and I would not make an attempt to enter any one of these two. Saḥ īḥ . 41. ed. the decipherment of his signs and the uncovering of his deception. who can you be? Thereupon it said: I am al-Jassāsa. I am going to tell you about myself.

already rich in cosmological and eschatological motifs in its ninth. a manuscript curator at that library. I have also relied on a copy of an incomplete. listed as no. 1984). Nonetheless. Tamīm al-Dārī’s fabulous journey inspired the creation of folk ballads in several languages. The Tamīmancāri Mālai. written in a poor but readable Maghrebī hand.3_f8_566-601. the jassāsa. these fantastically embellished tales became popular throughout the Islamic world.
28
ME 13. the outline of the story is nearly the same in these Western Islamic texts. the journey to the nether-world. ﬁttingly. as attested by later manuscripts in Tamil. are criticized in educated circles for mixing what are held to be veridical accounts regarding the Prophet and his Companions with storytellers’ yarns. the spy or the uncoverer. a dreamlike geography and ﬂuid sense of time allow the ready amalgamation of unrelated episodes. Shulman notes that it incorporates motifs well known from other story cycles such as “the talking birds. are less elaborate than the Tamil and Malay variants but still rich in fantastic details. esp. and. studied by David Shulman. The scene is Mecca. 5 (1891): 3-26. 188. including an epic poem in Tamil. This “oﬃcial” account of Tamīm al-Dārī and the dajjāl. As Tamīm al-Dārī
Shulman. Morocco. 1103 of the BibliothèqueMusée d’Alger. These types of stories. Friedman (Jerusalem: Magnes. became the nucleus for elaborate—and decidedly “unoﬃcial” or noncanonical—popular narratives of supernatural travel and adventure.”28 As is typical in narratives of marvelous journeys. the island-tomb of Solomon. Urdu. Western versions of the Tamīm al-Dārī story.indd 579
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. that reveals the dajjāl to the shipwrecked and unwitting Tamīm. it must be stressed. and a group of Muhammad’s companions are gathered around him. as seen in the Aragonese aljamiado version and Arabic manuscripts in Algeria and Morocco.29 The story begins. and the aljamiado Spanish manuscript under consideration here. ed. M. it is another beast. provides one of the most complex versions of the traveler’s adventures. in a poor Maghrebī hand. 29 René Basset provides a transcription of an undated Western manuscript of the story. undated manuscript. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
579
concatenated. I thank Khalid Zahrī. with a prophecy of sorts. consisting of some 880 couplets interspersed with prose fragments.L. the crystal mountain. found in the Bibliothèque Générale de Rabat. “Muslim Popular Literature in Tamil. the cosmic serpent. Turkish.and tenth-century recensions. Persian. Although there are some important stylistic diﬀerences. 174-207. Malay. for bringing this manuscript to my attention. most strikingly.” Giornale della Società Asiatica Italiana. Y. in “Les aventures merveilleuses de Temim ed-Dari.” in Islam in Asia. Arabic.

M. the name is signiﬁcant because it refers to the Udhrī tribe. He is ﬁrst taken to a distant mountain near the sea where he is held prisoner by unbelieving jinn. the period of abstention from sexual relations imposed on a widow or divorced woman). his journey has just begun. the wife jests: “[T]omaldo. ﬁnally goes to the caliph ʿUmar (for both the Prophet and Abū Bakr have since died) to ask for license to remarry. Tamīm.580
L. It is. Despite their taunts. the always-nameless wife is betrothed to a man who is alternately referred to as Algudriyu or Al-ʿudhriyu. Meanwhile. Although Tamīm has been delivered from the captivity of the unbelievers. His name then is a slyly ironic joke. for the narrator continues with the tale of Tamīm. The story will provide ample conﬁrmation of the Prophet’s vision. and a great number of the inﬁdel jinn are taken prisoner.indd 580
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. who has waited for seven years without news of her husband.”
ME 13.v. who one stormy evening rises to wash after dallying with his wife. oh company of jinn). de muchas maravillas” (161) (ʿAlī. ya compaña de al-jines” (take him.30 Once the customary four months and ten days have passed. the caliph asks her to observe “elal`ida” (ʿidda. “ʿIdda. s. the king of the believing jinn comes to his rescue. something great and full of wonders will befall Tamīm al-Dār). Although sometimes garbled in the aljamiado manuscript. nor is there any satisfactory explanation for his highly
30
See Linant de Bellefonds. i. and threats of being left to be devoured by lions. of course. The ensuing battle results in many deaths. love.e. the Prophet responds: “Yā ʿAlī. And thus begins Tamīm’s lengthy odyssey. When ʿAlī asks him why he is crying. After four years in captivity. including their king. torments.. However. who is so unkempt and disﬁgured by his torments that he is unrecognizable. Muhammad begins to cry. Algudriyu concludes that he must be a thief. a este Tāmima Al-Dār le akaecerá un fecho muy grande. In a light-hearted moment. Tamīm al-Dārī’s wife. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
passes by. Encyclopedia of Islam. the always unnamed “accursed” jinni who holds Tamīm is not prepared to let his prisoner go without a struggle.3_f8_566-601. Implicitly declaring Tamīm’s death. traditionally associated with passionate. yet platonic. for he cannot accept Tamīm’s claim to have been occupied with a “fecho maravilloso” (a marvelous deed) for such a long time. for their ﬁrst night of wedded life is interrupted before the marriage can be consummated by the sudden appearance of a man in the house. he faithfully continues to pray and read the Qurʾān.

and Iram was buried under sand.32 Ilyās goes on to explain
31 Ilyās is the name given in the Qurʾān (6:85. and his stay with the pious jinn and how. In the ﬁrst cycle. verse 6:86—which follows the verse mentioning Ilyās— Alīsaʿ (or al-Yasaʿ) is mistakenly translated as Elijah. Following the popular convention of storytelling à la 1001 Nights. Several miracles are attributed to him and he is said to be immortal. Shadad and his company were destroyed in a storm sent by God as punishment for his pride. who explains to Tamīm what he has seen. the biblical prophet Elijah. in M. Tamīm will observe and meet many—if not all—of the central ﬁgures associated with Islamic apocalypticism and signs of the end times. possibly Damascus. four months. The passage from the distant lands of the jinn back home to Mecca and to the ultimately happy outcome with his family and the larger Muslim community is structured in two distinct and counterposed cycles. Muslim tradition adds more details to the story of Ilyās.S. its meaning in the verse is equivocal but is generally held by later scholars to refer to a city. but to win back his wife. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
581
inopportune arrival on this wedding night. and ten days. rejected by his people. M. 37:123-32) to the biblical prophet Elijah. drawing in part on biblical tradition.
ME 13.31 He identiﬁes the marvelous city of gold and silver as Iram of the pillars (Qurʾān 89:6).L. yet praised by later generations. it is Ilyās. He is described there as a messenger of God. the Meccan scenes of Tamīm’s life before and after his adventures become the frame for Tamīm’s tale of what happened in the intervening seven years. After a long ﬁght. yet never inhabited for God sent the angel of death for its builder and his people as they arrived at its newly ﬁnished walls. it should read instead as Elisha.A. Tamīm observes wondrous or inexplicable things and then learns their meaning from Islamic ﬁgures associated with wisdom and knowledge. The translation of these characters’ names can sometimes create confusion. For example. Increasingly elaborate stories surround this city. if it is to be rendered into its common English equivalent. In each. During that journey. Here the tale refers to the legend that Iram was built near Eden by Shadad in imitation of paradise. that is. his captivity with the unbelieving jinn.indd 581
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. He recounts his capture. 32 Iram dhāt al-ʿImād is mentioned once in the Qurʾān (89:6). Abdel Haleem’s excellent recent translation of the Qurʾān (Oxford: Oxford University Press.3_f8_566-601. Thus. the woman pleads with them to share a room peacefully and let her sleep alone and take the matter to the caliph ʿUmar in the morning. Tamīm ﬁnally tells his story before the caliph. in this case not to save his life. 2004). built in the image of paradise. his nostalgia for his family and for his Muslim community in Mecca suddenly overcomes him and he begins the long and perilous journey home. ﬁnally.

33 In the story. kill a child. and help a town that has refused them hospitality.” Most exegetes identify al-Khādir as the unnamed servant of God whom Moses follows in Qurʾān 18:64-81. trans. Moses cannot contain his curiosity when he sees the man make a hole in a boat. Tamīm can only surmise what lies beyond the walls of the magniﬁcent fortress he saw. its relationship to Jewish and Hellenic traditions. Moses is not privy to the future.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies. Iram is thus presented as the earthly.34 Together they provide Tamīm with the knowledge of future punishment and reward that he must bring back to his community. The frame story here. Unlike Muhammad. and the restoration of the marital bond. Rashad Ahmad Azami (Riyadh: Darussalam. and the nature and identity of the ﬁgures involved.
33
ME 13. Thackston. they are presented as separate but complementary. 57. links the initial vision or prophecy of the Prophet Muhammad with a complex narrative that contains not only the Islamic apocalyptic elements already described but
There is an extensive literature on the interpretation of this episode of the Qurʾān. the sumptuous foods he enjoyed with Ilyās but a foretaste of its delights. In the second cycle. he asks Moses to refrain from asking questions until the time that he chooses to explain himself. literally means “the green man. The youth clearly represents al-Khādir (sometimes called al-Khidr).582
L. Tales of the Prophets of al-Kisaʾi. the two ﬁgures are collapsed into one. 3 (1998): 191-215. “Moses or Alexander? Early Islamic Exegesis of Qurʾān 18:60-65. M. 34 See the relevant sections of two standard works on the legends of the pre-Islamic prophets (Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ): Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Kisaʾi. see Brannon Wheeler. by contrast. For a concise (and thoroughly documented) introduction to some of these issues. 1978). While it is the man’s foreknowledge that illuminates and justiﬁes these apparently outrageous acts. or more properly his epithet. nearby. W. 1999).indd 582
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. trans. his eventual return. whose name. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
that Tamīm has seen the outer walls of paradise and. preﬁguration of paradise. an unnamed youth dressed in green directs Tamīm to the place where he meets al-Dajjāl and later sees two men facing brutal torments. the separation of Tamīm from his wife. mighty angels and righteous Christians awaiting the return of Jesus. no. M. yet still unattainable. and Ismʿaīl ibn ʿUmar Ibn Kathīr. Jr. Stories of the prophets. the green-clad man explains al-Dajjāl’s role in the end times and the signs by which they can be recognized. When Tamīm returns. Al-Khādir is frequently associated with Ilyās: in some sources. who was granted a vision of paradise in his miʾrāj (night journey).3_f8_566-601. (Boston: Twayne. and in the aljamiado story.

indd 583
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.”35 Tamīm’s adventures correspond to many of the elements of the “master paradigm” for apocalypses proposed in Collins’s study. likewise.L. in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
583
also many paradigmatic elements of Jewish and Christian apocalypses. and Tamīm’s restoration to his prior life.3_f8_566-601. Given that after the completion of the ʿidda Tamīm was legally dead. the vision of paradise that awaits the faithful. his return is a symbolic resurrection. the torments for the wicked. supernatural world. the “otherworldly mediator. 14 (1979): 1-20. The story’s complex structure allows “eschatological salvation” to take a number of forms. insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation. It pays much greater attention to narrative ﬂow and point of view. she hears a noise.” Al-Khādir.” interprets the mysterious symbolic elements of that visual revelation. Suspense is created as the reader (or listener) shares in the wife’s ignorance of her husband’s fate. She jokingly says: “take him. 6-8. For example. follows the pattern of attributing the narration to “a venerable ﬁgure from the past. 9.” A complete listing of common apocalyptic tropes and motifs is found on pp.” Semeia. oh company of jinn”. this serves to increase the dramatic eﬀect in crucial scenes. John J. that idealized early Muslim community gathered before the caliph preﬁgures the community of believers who will be granted divine justice before God on judgment day. and spatial insofar as it involves another. disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal. a prominent scholar and exegete from among the ﬁrst generation of Muslims.36 Like the model apocalyptic narrator. Tamīm’s disappearance is narrated from the standpoint of the wife. and he is gone. M.
ME 13. “Apocalypse: Towards the Morphology of a Genre. Collins describes apocalypse as “a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework. “Apocalypse. both personal and collective: Tamīm’s rescue from the unbelieving jinn following a ﬁerce battle. comes out to investigate.” Tamīm’s persecution by the unbelieving jinn represents an “eschatological crisis” that echoes the upheavals later foretold by the dajjāl. Tamīm’s otherworldly journey takes him to “remote regions beyond the normally accessible world” where the revelations he experiences are “predominantly visual. The aljamiado version of the Tamīm al-Dārī story is marked by several important stylistic reﬁnements with respect to the extant North African versions. esp. The pseudonymous attribution of the story to Ibn ʿAbbās. while she spends
35 Collins. 36 Collins.

the aljamiado narration is careful to preserve the drama of the moment. it adds a wonderful section in which Tamīm tries to prove his identity through his knowledge of her parents and her brother.584
L.indd 584
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. because although she recognizes the voice of this man who claims to be Tamīm.3_f8_566-601. The Algerian manuscript narrates his return with much less attention to its dramatic possibilities: “[F]a-idhā bi-zawjuha al-awwal qad nazala min al-samā’i fī wast ̣ al-dār” (And suddenly. In this version. It is “un ombere” (a man) who comes down upon the wife. it is not his face. the awful visage of his abductor—is postponed until Tamīm gives account to the caliph.37 While this omniscient style of narration quickly impresses the reader with the monstrousness of the jinni. “Les aventures merveilleuses de Temim ed-Dari.38 While the Moroccan manuscript also identiﬁes him from the moment of his entry. Basset. with a repulsive form and the horns of a great bull). when Tamīm returns. both North African Arabic versions describe the jinni when he ﬁrst appears. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
a sleepless night alone in terror before venturing out in the morning to try to ﬁnd news of him.
37 38
Basset. M. Not until after Algudriyu explains that it is the ﬁrst night the newlyweds will spend together does the narrator refer to Tamīm by his name. she experiences confusion. “Les aventures merveilleuses de Temim ed-Dari. as here in the Algerian manuscript: “ʿ[I]frīt min al-jinn aswad qad nazala calayhi shanīʿ al-khalq lahu qurūn al-thawr al-ʿaẓ īm” (an ʿifrit descended on him. the dramatic tension in the aljamiado version created by its withholding the description of Tamīm’s abductor is a far more sophisticated literary eﬀect. in another moment of confusion. These diﬀerences in storytelling technique suggest that contemporary reﬁnements in Spanish narrative and perhaps especially the play of perspectives increasingly developed in the popular theater of the time may have inﬂuenced the Morisco retelling of the tale. for the perspective shifts to explain Tamīm’s joy at discovering that his wife has not yet had relations with her new husband. they were marked by the artistic and aesthetic environment in Spain. one of the black jinn. “fa idhā bi-Tamīm al-Dār qad wuḍ ica fī wast ̣ al-dār” (and suddenly Tamīm al-Dār was set down right in the house). her ﬁrst husband descended from the sky right into the house).
ME 13.” 16. By contrast.” 15. Likewise. This is just another reminder that even as the Moriscos endeavored to preserve their Islamic cultural heritage. the description of what Tamīm saw that night—that is.

Tamīm’s tormentors cannot read his prayers as personal devotion or religious duty—“i hazes todo esto / a nuwestoro pesar” (and you do all of this to injure us). M. and ridicule by the jinn.indd 585
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.L. somewhat curiously. he needs Tamīm to teach his children to read—one might presume the Qurʾān. Although stories such as this which add fantastic elements to accounts about important religious ﬁgures have long been condemned by religious authorities for their potential to undermine the authority of other texts. the believing jinni who initiates his rescue comes precisely because he hears Tamīm’s tearful prayers. and pigs and wearing snakes for turbans. Tamīm thus is doubly inscribed as a transmitter of knowledge: ﬁrst to the jinn children and. The aljamiado version adds a wealth of detail that appears to be calculated to resonate especially strongly with the persecuted Moriscos: it repeatedly insists on the constancy of Tamīm’s pious observance despite the beatings. In the two North African versions much more is made of the frightful appearance of the jinn. the tale adds a highly entertaining narrative that blends fantastic elements and even certain humorous notes. and an implicit promise that if they persisted in their pious observance. despite the piety of the rescuer jinni and his freedom to practice Islam. While repeating motifs and themes drawn from a variety of apocalyptic sources. The Rrekontamiento de Tamīm al-Dār served as a vivid reminder to the Moriscos of the worlds that existed beyond their captivity.3_f8_566-601. Furthermore. Tamīm alDari returns from his fabulous journey with secret knowledge. that deliverance would be theirs along with a return to the company of an idealized. his prayers are about them. Indeed. he has seen al-Dajjāl and has knowledge of the signs of the end times. just. this tale certainly served a number of important functions among the Moriscos. In its broad outlines. and understanding Muslim community. threats. the Algerian version describes them as having the faces of dogs. the story undoubtedly reﬂects a nostalgia and yearning for the purity and piety of the earliest times of Islam and the desire to be rescued by the forces on the side of the believers. it is a potent symbol and weapon of resistance. Most importantly. monkeys. Prayer in this environment is much more than personal devotion. he has seen wonders like those of paradise and hellish torments visited upon sinners. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
585
One of the most striking aspects of the aljamiado text is the great emphasis it places on the torments and mockery faced by Tamīm al-Dārī for practicing his religion while held in captivity by the unbelieving jinn.
ME 13. more importantly. insults. for them. to those who will hear his recounting of his otherworldly visions.

My aim here is more modest: to provide a readable English version of the tale. The notes will draw attention to some—but not all—instances of Hispanized Arabic words. a cousin of Muḥ ammad. recounted by Ibn Abbas. 41 ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭ ālib. the compassionate. are not italicized. and Muhammad (peace be upon him) looked at him and began to cry.indd 586
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. It was a frightful night with heavy rains. I have used italics to indicate where the aljamiado text uses Arabic phrasing. known for collecting information about the Prophet from his Companions.586
L. One day while we were sitting with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). why are you crying?” Muhammad (peace be upon him) replied: [161] “Oh Ali. enjoyed a close relationship with the Prophet and married his daughter Fāt ̣ima. Whereupon Ali Ibn Abi Talib41 (may God reward him) said: “Oh Messenger of God. who is usually referred to as Tamim Al-Dari. Of course. however. is going to befall Tamim Al-Dari. Tamim Al-Dari was at home. Arabic names. He became the fourth caliph of Islam. full of marvels. 40 ʿAbd Allah ibn al-ʿAbbās was one of the early scholars of Islam. The story of Tamim Al-Dari. both in instances where I retain the Arabic (such as jinn) and where I have rendered it in English (e. the merciful. and the partisans of ʿAlī gave rise to the division between Sunnis and Shiʿites. Tamīm al-Dārī.” * * * Ibn Abbas said that one night. Numbers in brackets here refer to the pagination in Hegyi’s edition.40 may God reward him. in many cases. Thus my translation eliminates most diacritical marks for Arabic terms and names.g. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
Appendix The Story of Tamim Al-Dari39 In the name of God. the murdered caliph who preceded ʿAlī. the “Arabic” words have been modiﬁed according to Spanish rules for pluralization or formation of reﬂexives. happily dallying with his wife. Messenger of God for rasūl Allāh). the attribution of the story to him would be viewed as lending it greater authority. including that of the main character. M. and
Readers who are interested in the ﬁner philological points of the details of orthography and pronunciation in this text will want to refer to the original manuscript and the technical transliteration of Ottmar Hegyi (Cinco leyendas y otros relatos moriscos). Tamim Al-Dari passed by. a great happening. He said: “Among the Companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him) there was a man named Tamim Al-Dari. and standardizes spelling. Thus. thunder.” The violent split between the partisans of ʿUthmān.3_f8_566-601.
39
ME 13. the last of the “Rightly Guided Caliphs.

It had been so long that they no longer thought about him. so the story goes. They put him in a large and frightful cave where all of the jinn would gather to eat and to sleep. They explain: “Some of us are righteous and others less so: we follow diﬀerent paths” (72:11). oh company of jinn!”43 No sooner had she said these words than she heard a great sound. 43 Jinn. They are also portrayed as powerful beings who are obedient to Solomon (27:17.L. M. Sūra 72.” tells of a group of jinn who listened to a recitation of the Qurʾān and came to believe. The family was amazed and saddened by all of this. he got up to perform ablutions 42 and his wife said jokingly: “Take him. which is a Spanish pluralization of the Arabic collective noun jinn.3_f8_566-601.
ME 13. and the accursed ones
42 The text reads t ̣ahararse. When the man’s enjoyment was complete. She waited a bit to see what it was. So she got up from bed and went to where her husband had been and couldn’t ﬁnd him. I will use jinn to render the plural and jinni for the singular. They asked about him in so many places and quarters that they grew weary and reckoned him lost. He stayed there with the jinn and partook of what they ate and drank. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
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lightning and unbelievably strong winds. for he was a great reader of the Qur’an. 34:12) and can carry material objects quickly through space (27:39). titled “The Jinn. One group of jinn listened to the Qurʾān attentively and “turned to their community and gave them a warning” (46:29). are mentioned at least two dozen times in the Qurʾān. they brought him to that cave the very night they took him. Throughout the text. And she was taken by a great fright and fear and didn’t sleep at all during the whole night until God brought the morning sunrise. [the narrator] tells us that the jinni— along with others—snatched him and took him to a dark and dense mountain at the foot of a mountain range overlooking the sea. which has been turned into a Spanish reﬂexive here. but she didn’t see anything. They made inquiries about him to every passing traveler but never had any news of him. Then she went to her family and told them what had happened. And [the narrator] says that although the [162] distance from Tamim Al-Dari’s house to the cave was four hundred leagues. And despite all of these troubles. However. for the two of them were cousins.indd 587
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. The original text reads aljines. the majority of Qurʾānic references speak of evil jinn condemned to the ﬂames—Iblis or Satan is said to be one of the jinn (18:50). Getting back to Tamim Al-Dari. and reading the Qur’an. weeping bitter tears. and he lived this life with great troubles. unseen beings said to be made of “smokeless ﬁre” (Qurʾān 55: 15). he never stopped invoking the name of God. an adaptation of Arabic verb t ̣ahara.

in telling me. while praying to God that He take mercy upon him. Meanwhile.3_f8_566-601. and this will be your life until you die.588
L. you will train them in reading the Qu’ran. but despite these he never abandoned his reading of the Qur’an nor saying his prayers at their times. and here you will stay. supreme among them and their king. for many times you have cursed us in your prayers and your ablutions. I am a believer in God. the most powerful of the faithful jinn was passing by. you will receive some remedy for your want. performer of prayers and ablutions. And then the jinni said to the believer: “You should know. M. by God’s grace. I have two small sons. we will take even greater vengeance upon you by dragging you to the mountain of the lions so that they eat you.” These and even greater insults they hurled at him. Returning from
ME 13. for no jinni or anyone else will bother or abuse you. if you want to escape this toil. oh Tamim Al-Dari. heard him. and he spent four years in these trials and tribulations. had come accompanied by great horsemen and many valiant ﬁghters from among the believing jinn. Know that often we wished to bring upon you the lot that is now yours. likewise you will be among us dishonored and diminished. and to insult us. For certainly you appear to be a believer in God. and came closer to the cave and saw that it was a mortal being who was there reading. Pray tell me who you are and how you came to be here. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
made much sport and ridicule of him. and they spit in his face. suﬀering great troubles among them. and be assured that just as you confounded us and insulted us. and they heaped much abuse and insult upon him. saying: “Evil traitor. I will take you in friendship to my company. He entered and found Tamim Al-Dari sad and weeping and said to him: “Oh mortal! May God almighty and powerful help you.” Ibn Abbas said that the believing jinni had been alerted that he would ﬁnd that man there and being king. And know that when you are dead. and you will be comfortable there.” Ibn Abbas said that Tamim Al-Dari told him everything that had happened and what had befallen with his wife. now we shall see how much proﬁt you get from your actions. Ibn Abbas recounts that Tamim Al-Dari was in that cave reading the Qur’an every earthly day.indd 588
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. the accursed ifrit—may God damn him—arrived. reader of the Qur’an! You do all of this to spite us. for you are now under our power. and how an evil jinni (ʿifrit) had come and snatched him away and held him there and that he suﬀered much abuse with him. [163] He says that once. that I am one of the faithful jinn. and.

” Thereupon said the accursed jinni: [165] “You say you will teach his children to increase the number of my enemies and thus wage even greater war upon me.” Thereupon said the believing jinni: “I expected no other response from you. and the time that you have had him here you have done me a great wrong and even greater oﬀense. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
589
his evildoing.” The accursed ifrit said: “Oh king! Ask something else of my house. may God have mercy on you. I am told that he is a great reader of the Qur’an. I ask that you give him to me for you know he is a believer as I am. he entered his cave and saw the believer jinn and spoke to him with great courtesy. and I see that this is true. and this man will teach them. every single worldly day he reads from the Qur’an. and reason has it that I and not you should have him. The killing and wounding lasted a great while and in the end the believer jinn were victorious and they captured many prisoners. saying to him: “Oh King! What is your pleasure? What brings you to my house? You surprise me. M. [164] What do you want of me? You know that I would do for you whatever you will.” And he began to scream with such force that I thought that the sky was falling upon the earth.L. As you know I have two small children. For as you know. Well.indd 589
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. You should know that I have come here because I had been assured that you had this man. your departure from here will be at the cost of many lives.” Replied the believer jinni: “Actions speak louder than words. You should know that this man is a member of my faith. And when all of the faithful jinn had
ME 13.3_f8_566-601. and the cries of the accursed jinn joined those of a thousand million accursed jinn. do not leave me here for I will teach your children. oh king. for I will not do that because this one battles me in cruel war with the prayer and ablutions and even here where I have him.” And this gave Tamim Al-Dari great joy and he said: “Oh king of the faithful jinn. You would hear nothing but cries that shook the hills and the cliﬀs with a great clamor. among them the king of the unbelievers. and I wanted them to learn to read. I will not leave without him. and a battle was joined such that the sky seemed to sink. when the Qur’an is read I melt like wax in the ﬁre. And they took Tamim Al-Dari to the king of the believing jinn on another mountain.

” And so they sent her back to her house and she completed the prescribed ʿidda.”
The Algerian manuscript published by Basset gives “rajulun min banī ʿUdhra” (a man of the Udhrī tribe) (“Les aventures merveilleuses de Temim ed-Dari. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
arrived. as well as Abu Bakr. and the children learned well and loved Tamim Al-Dari a great deal. She had waited a very long time indeed. Then they brought her back to Umar and they told him how she had completed the ʿidda as he had ordered. know that this woman’s husband has absented himself from her for seven years.590
L. And when he said this.44 rose and said: [167] “Oh Umar. M. and he was happy and they even more so with him. Umar questioned her neighbors until he ascertained the truth and then he surveyed those gathered in his service and said: “Oh people.” Umar (may God reward him) said: “Send her back home and have her carry out the idda for the deceased of four months and ten. She asked for a divorce from him and I ordered that she complete the ʿidda according to the religion that Muhammad ( peace be upon him) left us and she has upheld that. therefore give her license to marry.” 16). may God repay you. one of those standing before Umar—who was the king of the faithful—al-Udratu. we fear for her reputation. for they should know that he was a believer in God and a reader of the Qur’an and that he was to teach the king’s children. Ibn Abbas said that when his wife saw that her husband had not returned after so long—for seven years had passed—nor had she any news of him. who among you would like to marry this woman? For she has waited seven years to hear from her husband and not once had any news from him.indd 590
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.
44
ME 13. a sly joke about the chaste love of this second husband. The teller of this hadith goes on to say that she and her family went to Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God reward him) and they said to him: [166] “Oh king of the believers. I will marry her. it was her wish to marry.” It seems that our Prophet (peace be upon him) had died by then. In this way he spent three years.3_f8_566-601. The Morisco manuscript gives a number of vastly diﬀerent spellings for his name. and it seems possible that the literary reference went unnoticed by the Morisco scribe. So Tamim Al-Dari remained there in the company of the believer jinn teaching the two children of the king to read. he would read and perform the prayers and eat and drink with them. Now let us leave Tamim AlDari in that life. the king ordered that none of them should wrong nor speak hurtful words to that man.

and ten days ago and never returned or visited his wife.” And he said: “God is my defense against the one of whom you speak. a right left to us by Muhammad ( peace be upon him).” And the narrator said that the two of them slept in the same room. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
591
And later he went to his house and brought a silver necklace for her. His long hair and beard were truly frightful for he had not cut his hair or his beard in seven years. and the woman as well. and the house is mine. She said that she did not know him.L. and she in another until God brought morning. And the two men and the woman. Well. and she took out the food for him to eat and she left the room to perform her duties. heard the discussion. I am now married to her and this is the ﬁrst night I am with her. but I was occupied with a marvelous adventure which prevented me from visiting her.
ME 13. and he gave it to Umar and Umar gave it to her.” And this gave Tamim Al-Dari great joy and he said: “By God. he came out to them and said: “Who are you?” And he replied: “I am Tamim Al-Dari. That night (for he came to her house). almost killing one another. so deformed he was in appearance. that you spend the night together without anger and I will sleep somewhere else. and tomorrow may Umar (God reward him! ) judge between us. you speak the truth. Whereupon said the woman: “I ask you both.” And then she said: “Who are you. divorced from Tamim Al-Dari and married to al-Udratu. And thus the woman returned to her house.3_f8_566-601. and she said: “God is my defense against the cursed Shaytan (Satan). along with many others of that city who heard what had happened. four months. the second husband. when al-Udratu. Tamim Al-Dari. And al-Udratu said: “Surely you are a thief because Tamim Al-Dari left this land seven years. M.” And she recognized his voice but not his face. presumably] to them so they could marry. went before Umar (may God reward him! ). by God. Whereupon a man appeared before her. she had cooked dinner.indd 591
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. and he also gave [money.” And so the two of them fought for a long while. and who let you in or commanded you to enter my house without permission?” Said he: “I am your husband. and al-Udratu came in. giving her a great fright.” [168] Whereupon al-Udratu asked her if she knew that man.

and he took me. seven years.3_f8_566-601. who last night entered my house without my permission and deprived me of my spouse. oh Umar. and when I performed the prayers. his person would be harmed. a jinni king stood before me with many of his vassals.” Umar said: “My brother. oh congregation. oh king of the faithful. without sending his wife even one letter?” And Tamim Al-Dari said: Oh Commander of the Faithful. and one night I got out of bed to perform the ablutions and my wife said in jest from the bed: [170] “Take him. And I. one day a great throng of jinn who believe in God descended upon me. they would stone me. on his back and propelled me through the air. surely you and those present know that the house is mine and the woman as well. and ten days.” that is. four months. And later. as opposed to those who belong to the race of jinn. Don’t you recognize me?” Umar said: “And who are you. oh company of jinn!” And then. with a horrible countenance. and they took me to their cave.” Whereupon Umar said to the other man: “Brother. M. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
And al-Udratu said: [169] “Oh Commander of the Faithful. he had horns like an ox. Muhammad ( peace be upon him) and he told us that whenever one of us slept with his wife that he should then purify himself and that he not sleep unclean.indd 592
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.”
A calque from the Arabic which simply means “man. listen to what I have to say: You remember well that one day when you were with the Prophet of God. and if he slept without performing ablutions and something from Satan befell him. and there they heaped great abuse on me. brother? May God have mercy on you!” He said: “I am Tamim Al-Dari. and they took captive many of the unbelieving jinn. judge between me and this man. and this happened to me by the will of God. and he was very ﬁerce and big. When has it ever been seen that someone leaves home for so long. always followed the teaching of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
45
ME 13. who told you to enter this man’s house and forbid him his woman at such an hour of the night?” “Oh Commander of the Faithful. and they took me in exchange for those they had taken captive.45 where did you come from?” And I said to them: “I am a Companion of Muhammad (peace be upon him). and they said to me: “Oh son of Adam.592
L.

and then he called his people. oh companion of Muhammad?” And I told them of my desire.” And the king said: “I would like it to be sooner. for I heard the gloriﬁcations of God 47 of the angels and their
46 The combination of the Spanish deﬁnite article and the Arabic deﬁnite article preceding ʿnabbī actually gives “the the Prophet. and when I performed the prayers. and they took me before their king.” 47 “Atasbihes.” And I was with them. This is the one who took you from your house. and may God protect you from him. teaching their children the Qur’an. in one month. oh believer.” And the king said: “I would like it to be sooner. he was calling upon God.” Another rose and said: “I will take him in eight days.indd 593
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.” The standard plural for tasbīh (gloriﬁcation of God) is tasābih. and they took pity on me.” And another rose and said: “I will take him in a day. M. he will take you.” And the king said: “I would like it to be sooner. and I was overcome with the desire to perform the prayers in the assembly of the mosque of the Prophet 46 [171] Muhammad (God’s blessing and sanctiﬁcation upon him).” And I rode on him. rose. God willing. he said to them: “Which one of you will take this man to his house?” Whereupon. [172] Tamim Al-Dari. And one day I thought of my wife and your [the community’s] companionship. a very large jinni rose and said: “I will take him. but he is not to invoke God on the way.3_f8_566-601.L. and they let him know my desire. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
593
And I made them know my plight and all that had happened to me and they said to me: “Do not be afraid.
ME 13. they would perform them with me. oh Umar. for we are jinn who believe in God and his messenger. who was captured on the day of our war.” He replied: “As you will. ride on his back.” And a monstrous jinni. so big I could not describe him. for he is one of those who does not admit his sin nor ask for forgiveness and it pleases me that he is under my power. who seemed to me like the one who had taken me from my house. and when they had come before him. and he ﬂew with me in the air until he arrived at the ﬁrst heaven.” The king said: “Enemy of truth! When you kidnapped him from his house to your cave. the father of the children I taught. And the king said to him: “I want you to take this man to his house. and I cried because of that and they said to me: “Why are you crying.

each in its own language.3_f8_566-601. the term commonly used in medieval Navarra for granada.” and that Satan began to melt like lead in a ﬁre.” And I began to walk. and I saw in it four rivers.594
L. 1968). with gates which recalled those of Paradise. And then I left them. and I saw injured men with blood spilling from them that had the color of blood but that smelled better than ﬁne musk. and I ate from its fruit. and on top of it I saw men standing performing the prayers and I said to myself: “Who might they be? What if. And I marveled much at its construction. that which God spoke of in the honored Qur’an. and I entered the fortress and I saw a man with a lance and a sword in hand. whiter than milk. and it was as long as it was wide. M. small like precious stones. Later.indd 594
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. Vocabulario medieval castellano (New York: Las Americas. in them there were cities and castles whose story only God most high knows. they are lost like me?” And I went to them and I greeted them with “Salam.
ME 13. and not far from there I saw some very high mountain ranges. glowing like the rays of the sun and I arrived in a city made of gold and silver and precious stones. “Say that God is one.” and they did not return [my greeting]. and I found two
48 Hegyi reads mengaranos. and never was seen one more beautiful. pomegranate. which I take to mean milgranos. and they never stopped performing them. and around them there were many children. I left and not far from there I found a very large fortress. by chance. and most of its trees were date palms and pomegranates48 with their fruit and I said to myself: [173] “Glory be to God ! How this city seems to me to be in the form of Paradise. and I waited for them to ﬁnish the prayers. I was there for three days. and I entered into it and I saw many birds that were singing. And then God almighty and powerful brought me back to my senses and I found myself on a large and very wild island. oh Commander of the Faithful. Cejador y Frauca.” and I recited. and I fell oﬀ of him ﬂying in the sky. and I arrived on earth like a ball of wool and I lay there for three days. and I walked through a white land that looked like camphor. and I said to myself: “God protect me! For whom is this dwelling?” Later I left the fortress and walked not far. It was a domeshaped ediﬁce of precious stones and jewels embroidered with gold and silver. that is. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
sanctiﬁcations “by those who line up in rows. and drank from its waters. and I saw a tall and majestic mountain range. See J. 278.

and it is modeled on another that God speaks of in his honored Qur’an. God willing.L. with white robes and on his head a white cap. sit at this table and eat in the name of God. whose countenance evokes such fear?” He said to him: “I am the angel of Death. I said to him: “My lord. and as soon as he had ﬁnished his prayers.” He said to me: “Well. indeed. 16:32.” He said to me: “You have seen great marvels. 6:93. He wanted to make it in the image of Paradise and when it was ﬁnished. And then he said to me: “That is the city that God speaks of in his honored Qur’an.” And I sat down and I ate foods that could not be but the delights of Paradise. 32:11. and he was standing performing the prayers and I approached him and greeted him and he acknowledged me with his head. 8:50.” And I looked and saw before him a table set with diﬀerent types of food. See Qurʾān 4:97.” I said: “By God. and greeted him and he returned the greeting and Shadad said: “Who are you. the Angel of Death came before him in the guise of a man. and they said “Peace” to me and I responded with “Peace” and they said to me: “Are you the man who has lost his company?” [174] And I said: “Yes. he came to it with his people and his servants and when he arrived at its walls. 7:37.3_f8_566-601.” And I said to him: “My lord. he returned my greeting and said to me: “Are you the man who has lost his company?” I said: “Yes.indd 595
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. would I really like to eat. for it is Iram of the pillars built by Shadad Tab.
ME 13. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
595
men walking quickly with spears of light in their hands. So I walked not far from there and I saw a white dome-shaped ediﬁce and in it a white old man. for this food must suﬃce you for as long as you are in these lands. And he said to me: “Now I am sure you would [like to] eat.49 and I have come to
49 The Qurʾān makes multiple references to the angel (Malak al-mawt) or angels that come at the moment of death to escort souls to their punishment or reward. and 47:27. I have seen a city so great that it is three hundred and seventy two leagues long. M. 16:28. the son of Adad. When I had eaten. how long did it take him to build it?” He said to me: “Three hundred and seventy years. It has six thousand towers worked in [175] gold and silver.” —You have seen great wonders but go on a little further and you will ﬁnd the one who can guide you.

and they took me onto the ship with them and there I found people I could not understand. 51 Although Seth is not mentioned in the Qurʾān. and he said to me: “Friend! And who brought you to this land?” And I told him my story and he said: “You have seen great wonders. he is an important ﬁgure in later
ME 13. peace be upon him. who are you?” He said to me: “I am Ilyas. and with him you will ﬁnd your release. and thus he and his people are identiﬁed as Jews.” He said to me: “Those are the ones who remain from among the apostles who walked with Jesus son of Mary. (peace be upon him).” And I said to him: “And you my lord. Thereupon I saw a ship and I made signs to it and it drew near and they tossed out a dinghy with oars. And he received their souls by the will and command of almighty and powerful God. were for their gentlemen and the ministers of his house.” [176] And he said to me: “Tamim Al-Dari! That fortress belongs to Paradise and it is the abode of those that die in the path of God and the beings that you saw are the sons of those who died in the path of God. and they asked God to give them life so they might serve him until Jesus descends to this world and they remained there where you saw them through the will of God almighty. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
receive your soul and those of all your people.” He said to me: “Those were Jibril and Michael. which is in an uninhabited land. the fortresses and the cities that are on the mountain tops.3_f8_566-601. on top of these mountains I saw men performing prayers. that which had descended in the letters of Abraham50 ( peace be upon him) and I came to him and I greeted him and he understood me and I understood him. go by the shore for there you will ﬁnd the one who will show you the way. and everything that you have seen.” And I said to him: “My lord.596
L. And they never entered it [the city]. Now look at this sea.indd 596
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. the man was reading Hebrew. know that we are of the lineage of Seth51 (peace be upon him) and we are
50 That is. And I saw a man of many years who was reading the word of God.” I said to him: “I saw two men who were in a great hurry and in their hands were lances of light. nor did they see it.” [177] And I wished him peace and I walked ten days to the edge of the sea.” He said to him: “I have also seen a great fortress of gold and silver. Almighty God willing. sent by God to guide you to the straight path. nor could they understand me. M.

it looked like it had been cut with a saw.L.” When the old man had heard my story. a young man dressed in green with a green headscarf and he was standing performing the salat and I approached and said “Salam” to him and when he had ﬁnished his prayer he returned my greeting and said to me: “Are you the man who has lost his company?” And I said: “Yes.indd 597
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. and I saw a very large cave and in it a black dog. and the dogs in her barked. until the almighty and powerful God brought me back to my senses. And I was with them upon that ship for nine months. and when I saw her. Umar. 52 Here the author puns on the Spanish word sierra which can either mean a mountain (range) or a saw.
ME 13. I alone.” He said to me: “You have seen great wonders. The third son of Adam and Eve.” I looked and I saw a great black round mountain in the middle of the sea. for I saw no one escape. and you shall see marvels that no one has seen before you. And I went to them. and all were drowned. M. And with this the ship collided with the mountain and splintered into pieces.” He said to me: “They are crying because everyone who has ever come to this place has been lost. and in six days I saw not a single creature excepting one day that I saw a green dome-shaped building and in it. now go on to those two mountains you see there before you. Seth was Adam’s favorite. who cared for him when he was sick and who fought and defeated his brother Cain for his murder of Abel.52 And he said to me: [178] “See that mountain?” I said: “Yes. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
597
from where the sun sets. I rose and went about the island.3_f8_566-601. And we heard you invoke Muhammad ( peace be upon him) and it is our duty to visit whomever invokes him. Traveling in this way I saw that they began to take leave of one another and cry and I said to the old man: “Why are these creatures doing that?” He said: “Look ahead. I was frightened and
works on the pre-Islamic prophets (Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ ). all of them came to me and they gave me of what they had and they honored me such as they could. The waves dumped me on a larger island than before and I was dead to the world for three days. got out on a wooden plank and the waves tossed and embraced me and I was in those straights for ten days during which I very much wanted to die.

and I returned to the ﬁrst mosque. and you will see wonders. and in them many creatures. and I greeted him and I let him know what I had seen. a bed of stones and in it a sleeping old man. and I saw. enter the cave.” And he said to me: “When you left him. performing the prayers. And I left that place. and I found a deep well. or where do you come from. and the payment of the tithe and everything else that was commended to him he completed and God received his soul unto himself and has set him in the house of honor.” [180] He said to me: “Do you do evil deeds?” I said: “No. oh Umar. and I saw at the bottom of the well two people hanging by their eyelashes and the ﬁre beneath them. and what sort of creature are you?” I said to him: “I am of the people of Muhammad (peace be upon him).” Oh Umar.598
L.”
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ME 13. and Muhammad is his prophet. When he heard the mention of Muhammad he began to swell up until he no longer ﬁt in the cave and he said to me: “Is Muhammad’s coming near or has he already come?” I said: “Yes. he has come. and I saw many mosques. There is no one young or old who does not say it.” He said to me: “Do you fast during the holy month of Ramadan?” I said: “Yes.” He said: “Do you perform the prayers?” I said: “Yes. for God has sent him with the message.
This is the basic statement of faith for all Muslims: “There is no god but God.” And I entered inside. And he heard me and sat up on the bed and said to me: “Who are you.indd 598
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. I went not far from there.3_f8_566-601. wearing green robes.” Oh Commander of the Faithful ! With this he melted like wax in the ﬁre. Muhammad rasul Allah’?”53 I said: “Yes. to the youth.” He said: “Do you say: ‘La Allaha illa Allah. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
thereupon a voice from heaven which said: [179] “Don’t be afraid. in what state did you leave the commandments of religion? I said: “I left them just as God commanded.” He said to me: “Do you practice usury? Do you announce it in the public squares?” I said: “No. M.

56 that encircles the world. including al-Muttahar al-Maqdisī’s tenth-century Kitāb al-badʾ wa al-taʾrīkh (Book of the Beginning and of History) and al-Qazwīnī’s Ajāʾib al-makhlūqāt (The Wonders of Created Beings). the Antichrist. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
599
He said to me: “My friend. even when done in public. men who disregarded the angels’ warning: “We are sent only to tempt—do not disbelieve. as the text itself explains. there will be signs and they will be these: the prayer will diminish. “The Legend of Al-Dajjāl (Antichrist).L.55 who chose the torments of this world over those of the next. And the men that you saw performing the prayers in the mosques.” 291. There will be much evildoing at the time of the emergence of this perverse evil one. and the young will not respect the old. that no one but almighty and powerful God knows their number. those are Harut and Marut. and they said to the youth: [182] “May God’s peace be upon you! Is there anything you need?”
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Al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl. those are the ones who remain of the companions of Jesus (blessings upon him) and serve God until judgment day. that can traverse [181] the world in one day because her step is the distance such as what a man can see on ﬂat land and she will not set out until the end of the world. believers will be viliﬁed and the evil will be honored. As for the well in which you found the men hanging by their eyelashes and the ﬁre beneath them. and when she does. M. kings will be conquered. “Ḳ āf. the opposite or the Masīḥ or Christ. In that time. and tithing will be prohibited. Streck and A. literally the pseudo-Messiah. the rich will have no mercy toward the poor. Encyclopedia of Islam. and they chose the ﬁrst option.” Whereupon came a black cloud and in it came the angels of torment with strong thunder and lightning.54 and the black dog that you saw is the beast that he rides. that is. each one of them forty times larger than this world. and all of them full of angels.3_f8_566-601. See H. evil will not be proscribed. 56 Qāf. See Saritoprak.” The legend regarding these two angels. Fleish.” And I said to him: “Oh my lord ! What lies beyond the mountain range called Kaf. and there will be much usury. Miquel trace this cosmological concept to Iranian traditions.”
ME 13.indd 599
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. like the walls encircle a city and it is made of precious stones? I said to him: “Oh my lord ! What is there beyond this land?” He said to me: “There are forty islands. s. is the name of the mountain range held to surround the terrestrial world. 55 The angels Hārūt and Mārūt are mentioned in Qurʾān 2:12 as teaching harmful knowledge to wicked men. The cave in which you saw the one-eyed old man is the accursed of al-Masih Al-Dajjal. M. as related in several accounts. is that they committed grave sins while on earth and were then given the choice between punishment in this world or punishment in the next.v.

” And almighty and powerful God gave me sleep. This done.indd 600
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. however.
ME 13. that the marriage would be licit and that the divorce of Umar was good. he was not at liberty to come. and God sends me with the punishment and the anger to destroy them. but the best and most just course would be for her to say which of the two she wants.600
L.” He said: “Oh cloud. and in it the angels of piousness and it came upon us and said to the youth: “May God’s salvation be with you.” And he said to it: “Oh cloud. Said Ali ibn Ali Talib (may God reward him): “May a barber step forward. This is what has happened to me and what has prevented me in this time from coming to my house. and I will show myself to none but him.” And he said to me: “Ride on her and rise up in her. The marriage would not be licit. never have I seen nor shown myself to anyone but Tamim Al-Dari.” And one came.” She said: “By Him who sent Muhammad with the truth. oh friend of God. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
He said: “Oh cloud. where are you going?” It said: “I am going above the people who consume the sustenance which comes from God. and he shaved Tamim Al-Dari. where go you?” She said: “I go to those who are believers in God to give them good waters. that the earth may drink and that grasses may grow for their livestock.”57 Said the cloud: “I hear and I obey God the merciful.”
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This would be Mecca.” And meanwhile came another cloud. and he returned him to the countenance of those who were the companions of Muhammad.3_f8_566-601.” And he said to it: “Go with God’s blessing. and I remember nothing until I found myself in my house. who is my husband. Ali said: “I judge and say thus: That if Tamim Al-Dari had absented himself of his own will and had been free to come and had not come. yet they serve another who is less than God. oh king of the believers. See if you are in need of anything. I would like for you to take this man to the city of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). white. [183] And then Umar said: “God is great !” This is how the prophet Muhammad ( peace upon him) took his leave of us before his death. See if you are in need of anything. M.

3_f8_566-601. exalted and great. Amen. There is no god but God and Muhammad [184] is the Messenger of God. There is no force nor power but in God.indd 601
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. This is what has come to us of the narration of Tamim Al-Dari with the blessing of God.
These religious formulas are given ﬁrst in Arabic and then followed by the translation into Spanish. Alvarez / Medieval Encounters 13 (2007) 566-601
601
Said Ali. Amen. exalted and great.58 May God have mercy upon the writer and the reader and the listener and the entire congregation of Muhammad (peace be upon him). There is no God but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.L. M.” And they all left content and rewarded with this judgment. And there is no force nor power but in God. master of the two worlds. Thanks be to God. Amen. may God reward him: “I order that you return to al-Udratu what he has spent and that she go with Tamim Al-Dari. Amen.
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ME 13.